


Routine

by cal1brations



Series: Papa Rin AU [4]
Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Alternate Universe, Domestic, F/M, Gen, I think we get what this AU is about so..., M/M, Possibly Unrequited Love, literally the yukio/shiemi is mentioned all of 1 time for part of a sentence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-22
Updated: 2016-01-22
Packaged: 2018-05-15 12:20:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5785126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cal1brations/pseuds/cal1brations
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s taken years—eight of them, give or take—for Rin to finally get the hang of a routine that doesn’t involve getting up three minutes before he needs to be somewhere.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Routine

**Author's Note:**

> Drags my deadbeat ass to this note section... look... a new part to this au.....! A look at Rin being a hella rad dad! 
> 
> Things only go downhill after this issue. Hehehe.

It’s taken years—eight of them, give or take—for Rin to finally get the hang of a routine that doesn’t involve getting up three minutes before he needs to be somewhere. Something that, Rin has learned, is very difficult but also incredibly necessary for his daughters, if he wants them to be any semblance of normal.

(That is something he wants very, _very_ much.)

His days, generally, start with getting up early. Early enough that Rin can’t afford to think about it when his alarm blares, can’t think about how tired he is and how _easy_ it would be to fall back asleep right now, just shut the thing off and close his eyes, enjoying his nice, warm bed…

Except there’s a pair of freezing toes on his calf, which is definitely not enjoyable, and Rin sucks in a deep sigh as he rubs his eyes, his face, and slowly sits up in bed.

Ai and Megumi are tucked to either side of him, which is not all that uncommon—practically part of the routine. Which is a bad thing, Rin knows, he’s heard enough of it from Yukio that even thinking about his brother’s disappointed tone makes Rin’s skin crawl. It’s bad but, it’s _easy_ , easier than lots of things Rin isn’t ready to do yet, like telling his kids that no, not all people have tails they hide up under their shirts, or no, not everyone can see those monsters that they see slinking around in the dark.

But these things are all too much to think about when the sun is just barely peeking in the window over the bed, so Rin gives a loud yawn before gently petting each of his daughter’s heads (messy bed hair and all, of course) to either side of him.

“Hey,” he whispers, voice still rather thick with sleep, “Time to get up, girls, c’mon.”

Two very displeased whines of “ _Daddy_ …” come from his children, and Rin smiles through a sigh as he watches them try to burrow deeper into the pillows, to go back to sleep. They’re just as bad about mornings as he is, which is not something Rin is particularly proud of, he must admit.  

“C’mon,” he repeats, giving them both a little nudge. “We can’t stay in bed all day,” he mumbles, leaning in to press a kiss to Ai’s head, then Megumi’s. Even the loving gesture does little to convince them to get up. Which means drastic measures, Rin thinks with a wicked grin, as he smooths his hands down a bit to get at two very ticklish sides, and does that which only a parent can do out of love: tickle his children mercilessly.

Both girls screech and giggle, flailing under the covers as they flop like fish at the attack. Eventually Megumi gasps a giggle of, “We—we’ll get up! Daddy! No more!” that makes Rin stop, watching them sit up with a grin. Rin receives two hugs and two kisses, laughing at the grumbles from both his children as he kisses each of their foreheads.

“Go get ready,” he tells them, and after a few more kisses, they scurry off (and oh, Rin can’t help but grin as he watches their tails flick behind them as they head out down the hall).

After his children leave to get ready for school, Rin scuttles out to the kitchen to make coffee (which he cannot function without; even if it’s bitter and tastes a lot like swallowing boiled leather, it wakes him up faster than anything else) and then breakfast, which is always a simple affair, mostly because of the lack of time and the fact that Rin almost dumps salt into his coffee mug than sugar, which speaks multitudes for his accuracy in the early morning.

Everyone eats together, as they do each morning, and both Megumi and Ai become more talkative as they wake up a bit more, probably due to eating and getting dressed for the day. Rin almost feels bad for how nearly-unresponsive he is in the morning (most of his answers are varying grunts and things like “mhmm” and “yeah, baby, I’m sure”) in comparison.

Rin gets ready after breakfast, before they all head out the door. It’s only after two cups of coffee that he can actually wake up enough to tie his tie, and sometimes do Ai or Megumi’s hair, if they ask for it. Ai asks him to tie back her hair today, so Rin does after he’s dressed, using the frilly hair tie she hands to him. He feels something sliding against his knee with his daughter’s back turned to him, and smiles at the line of her tail, swishing between both of them.

“Ai,” he says softly as he finishes tying back her long hair, hands on her shoulders as he slowly turns her just a bit to look at him. Rin takes a knee to be somewhat akin to her height, so he’s not towering over his tiny child. “What’s this?” He asks knowingly, tapping the small of her back.

Her frown is so impossibly sweet, Rin almost wants to cry at the sight of it; the worst part is that she’s not even playing him for a fool—that’s more of Megumi’s card. She legitimately frowns as she slides her glance to the floor.

“I don’t like when it’s under my shirt,” she tells him softly. Rin presses a kiss to her round cheek, tucking a stray bit of hair behind her ear, stroking his thumb over the gentle, rounded point of the shell of it.

“I know you don’t, sweetheart,” Rin tells her sincerely, because he _does_ know, he knows better than anyone ever could. His children sometimes complain of aches when they have to hide the appendage up their shirt—which is mostly unavoidable with tucking such a limb away in such an unnatural position. Even after long days, Rin can feel the twinge of discomfort in his lower back, biting at the base of his spine when he gets to unravel his tail from around his torso.

But it’s the best they can do, Rin knows, and he rubs Ai’s shoulders with a gentle hand. “What if Daddy does it for you? Think you can put up with it today?”

Ai seems to consider this quietly before giving a small nod. She hoists her dress up to her armpits with no reservation, and Rin chuckles a little as he carefully guides her tail—smaller, much softer between his fingers—around her torso, helping her tug her dress down over it once he’s done.

“Daddy!” Megumi’s voice booms, as well as her stomping as she makes her way to his room at the end of the hall. “We’re gonna be _late_ if we don’t leave soon!” She huffs, backpack already slung over her back; she’s carrying her sister’s backpack in her hand, holding it out for Ai to take.

Rin glances to the clock, bites back the curse at the tip of his tongue as he stands up and slides on his coat, slips his wallet and phone into his trouser pockets as he tells the girls to go get their jackets and shoes on, please.

As with most mornings, they leave _just_ in the nick of time.

* * *

 

Rin is an exorcist. Being an exorcist is his first job, but definitely not his most extensive one, not even a full-time one, mostly because, as he’s told Yukio, _I’m not leaving my kids in the middle of the night if shit goes down— it’s just not happening, Yukio._

Rin also works at a bakery part-time, because kids are expensive to have and not having a full-time job doing his first job, which is mainly just being available when they call him in, is kind of a violent blow to his funds. It’s also not a bad job at all, doesn’t pay well, but that’s also because Rin works less than twenty hours a week there.

Things are often tight, but Rin would do anything to make it work.

Even if it means changing while tucked behind the seats in the back of the subway train.

* * *

 

No matter how tiring the day is, no matter how exhausted Rin is and how much he wants to go home and take a nap, maybe just skip dinner and go to bed for the unhealthy fourteen hours that remain until tomorrow morning, Rin is always happy to see his girls at the end of the day.

Technically, it’s the end of _his_ day in particular; his children get off in the afternoon, but because Rin isn’t home to watch them, they don’t go home by themselves (Rin doesn’t feel comfortable enough with that just yet), but they go to Shiemi’s place—which is, okay, actually Yukio and Shiemi’s place, but that’s beside the point, because Rin really doesn’t stop by there for either of them.

Whenever he rings the bell, he always hears Ai and Megumi cheering and the thundering of footsteps coming to open the door for him; the girls always throw the door open and Rin scoops them up into his arms while Shiemi usually rounds the corner behind them, telling Rin hello, asking how he is, does he want to see Yukio, he should be in the back—

Sometimes Rin lingers a little, but not often. Mostly because it’s late, six in the evening usually, and Ai and Megumi tell him that they want dinner.

Rin walks home together with his girls, listening to them talk about their day. He holds one of their hands in each of his own, reigns them close to his sides. Sometimes he ends up carrying one of them, or both, but most often they walk hand in hand back home.

Sometimes the girls see things they’re scared of, things that wouldn’t be there to normal children, normal people.

Rin always guides them away without a word, scoops them up into his arms usually, when they’re frightened enough.

And, once they’re home (and safe, safe is important), he makes them dinner and makes sure his children are well-fed and happy.

“What are those things?” Megumi asks as the three of them sit under the kotatsu in the living room; the girls are watching some show, but Rin made andagi* with the rest of their dinner and brought it out to them, which is why he chose to join his girls instead of taking a quick nap.

“The doughnuts?” Rin asks, popping one of the treats into his mouth and licking his fingertips after. He watches Ai sneak two of them from the basket, munching them quietly as she watches the (very tiny) television.

Megumi shakes her head. “The scary things. Like today,” she tells him, looking to her father. “No one else got scared.”

Rin’s throat goes dry. “That’s because they’re all used to it, of course!” He tells Megumi, and it sucks to do it, it _sucks_ , but the conversation _about hey, you’re actually literal Satan spawn and there’s no hope for you and your sister to live like happy, normal kids_ isn’t one Rin thinks he’s capable of having at this point. Maybe never.

 _Rin, you_ have _to tell them_ , Suguro’s words from a few weeks ago bite from his conscience, and Rin focuses down at the table with a hard gaze, trying to calm himself into his usual tell. Casual smile, lots of laughs, especially in front of his girls, especially with these kinds of things.

Megumi sighs, reaching for another doughnut. “Well—I don’t think they’re _that_ scary,” she says, and Rin glances at her to make sure that, yes, her chest is puffed up a bit with pride with her statement, and Rin can’t help but smile at that.

Ai’s face at the proclamation makes Rin laugh. “What’s that, Ai?”

“She is _so_ scared!” Ai fires back. “Daddy— _she’s_ the one who wanted to go sleep in your bed last night!”

“ _Nuh-uh_!” Megumi shouts. “You _always_ wanna go sleep with Daddy, even if there’s nothing to be scared of!”

“Hey,” Rin holds his hands out before they start getting too loud, making them both back down rather quickly. “Don’t yell, please. In fact—“ he glances to the television, before reaching for the remote on the floor and turning it off. “I’m pretty sure it’s time for little girls to go to bed!”

At least that’s met with little complaint, and Rin cleans up while the girls head off to get changed into the pajamas and brush their teeth. He nearly shatters a bowl when he hears a gasp from the bathroom, and Rin quickly takes off down the hall to investigate, met with the sight of Ai looking into Megumi’s gaping mouth, poking at her teeth.

“What are you doing?” Rin asks, unable to keep the worry out of his voice as he steps closer.

“My tooth is loose!” Megumi chirps, reaching to wiggle it in demonstration. It’s the one next to her sharp (but rounded, not nearly as sharp as Rin’s) canine, and Rin snorts a little, relaxed with the reassurance.

“Get cleaned up,” he teases, ruffing Megumi’s hair with both hands, and grins at her delighted little giggle at the action.

Once they’re ready in their room—after reading for a time by themselves, which both of them surprisingly enjoy; at least, they don’t struggle with it as Rin does— they call for their father, and Rin tucks them in. With all their stuffed animals, making sure to tug the covers right up to their chin before he hugs each of them with incredible care, kissing their foreheads and cheeks and noses before he tells them he loves them, very, very much.

“Goodnight, Daddy!”

“Goodnight,” Rin tells them with a smile as he flicks the bedroom light off and closes the door, but not all the way. It’s more than likely he’ll find them sneaking into his bed before morning—Rin is a realist.

But finally, Rin heads to bed. He is tired enough that he can barely do more than brush his teeth and lazily change into his pajamas, burrowing under his covers. Kuro slinks from under the bed to lie down beside Rin, nuzzling into him, but Rin is too tired to chat, so Kuro quietly makes his way out in lieu of better entertainment for the evening.

It’s only when he’s lying in bed does Rin check his phone, probably for the first time today. He’s got a few emails and a missed call from someone he doesn’t know, but there’s also a message from Suguro:

_Stop sending me cat memes while I’m at work._

Rin laughs, pressing his cheek to his pillow as he opens the thread and types a small reply.

_how else will i make sure you’re not working yourself into a sourpuss face??_

_i’m only looking out for you!!_

_Gee, how kind._

_I didn’t know sending me pictures of a cat’s asshole and saying “it looks like an asterisk” was considered “looking out for me”._

_My bad._

Rin laughs at that, the sound stifled into his pillow as he tiredly types another message.

_well, i hope you at least laughed a LITTLE bit_

_I did. In front of other people._

_Couldn’t explain the joke to them._

_You know. Because that’s weird._

_that’s my middle name B)_

_d/w i’ll send a real doozy tomorrow_

_Oh boy. I can’t wait._

_no fun!!! >:0_

_anyways_

_night suguro!_

_Night, Rin._

Rin pretends he doesn’t think about sending a message telling Suguro about his day, in depth. About how he thought about him several times, including while talking with his kids, isn’t that weird, that Rin thinks about him so much?

But Rin can’t even make himself anxious or upset with his own thoughts because he falls asleep within seconds, phone clutched to his cheek.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a few things for general knowledge:
> 
> *Andagi = doughnuts. That's just what they are. Like doughnut holes, actually.
> 
> Also, Rin is dyslexic in this AU; that's why he doesn't read to his children.
> 
> Also also, I hope you're all ready for Suffering.
> 
> Also ALSO also: [here](http://nekochicanaart.tumblr.com/post/128535857270/just-thought-id-throw-out-a-lil-drawing-of-rins) is what Rin's kids look like. Ami's good at art. Follow her maybe?


End file.
